Former 58th Army Commander Ivan Popov Arrested in Fraud Case. He Criticized the Russian Defense Ministry — and Was Removed from His Post a Year Ago

The former commander of the 58th Army of the Russian Armed Forces, Major General Ivan Popov, has been arrested on suspicion of fraud, the pro-war Telegram channel "Two Majors" reported . The TASS agency also reported Popov's arrest, citing law enforcement agencies.

According to a TASS source, the investigators' motion to arrest Popov was considered in the 235th Garrison Military Court. The agency's source did not provide any other details.

The Telegram channel "Two Majors" claims that the major general was arrested on May 17 in connection with a case of fraud committed by an organized group or on a large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code). The case is being handled by the FSB's Department of Military Counterintelligence (DVKR), and the investigation was initially conducted against Popov's deputy.

There are two more defendants in the case - an entrepreneur from Krasnodar Krai and an officer of the Southern Military District, the Mash Telegram channel reports . It is alleged that the amount of damage caused by the accused is more than 100 million rubles.

According to the investigation version cited by the channels, Popov sold about two thousand tons of metal products intended for the construction of fortifications in the Zaporizhzhya direction, where the major general led the defense during his service.

• In July 2023, the commander of the 58th Army, Ivan Popov, said that he was removed from his post after he reported to the command about the problems of the Russian army and criticized the decisions of the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Popov's address, which was probably originally intended only for fellow soldiers, was published on his Telegram channel by State Duma deputy Andrei Gurulev, who also previously commanded the 58th Army. Politicians and propagandists were outraged by the publication of Popov's statement, in particular, Senator Andrei Turchak said that the general's address was made into a "political show."